TIL my flake welds improved after I switched to a shorter arc

Been running 7018 for a few years now and I always thought I had decent control. But last month on a job in Gary, an inspector pulled me aside and said my weld profile looked like a rope with bumps. He told me to drop my arc length by half and watch what happens. I tried it on the next pass and honestly the puddle flattened out way faster. The ripples got tight and uniform, almost like a machine laid them down. I think I was holding too long an arc cause I was scared of digging in or burning through. Now I set my rod angle a touch steeper and keep my ears open for that steady crackle instead of a hiss. Has anyone else found that a shorter arc fixed their bead consistency on thick plate?